Rylands In Seventh Heaven - Ellesmere In Fowl Up

And so to Orford and the outskirts of Warrington and Gorsey Lane for my final North West Counties port of call, the Division One South clash between Rylands and Ellesmere Rangers.

Rylands Recreation Club was formed in 1911 as a local wire manufacturer works team. In its early days the club played in the Liverpool County Combination, before joining the Warrington & District League, where they won successive Premier Division Championships from 1955 to 1959.

Steady progress prompted the club to look to higher levels and Rylands moved to the Mid Cheshire (now Cheshire) League in 1969. Championships followed in 1981 and 1984, but thereafter the club suffered barren times.

In 2008 the club amalgamated with Crosfields to form a new club, Crosfields/ Rylands FC. Prior to the start of the 2012/13 season the club reverted back to Rylands FC, with the backing of a new sponsor, Triple S Sports & Entertainment Group – led by former Rylands player Paul Stretford.

Stretford, Wayne Rooney’s agent, now owns the club. It was his investment in ground improvements that saw the club promoted this summer into the North West Counties Division One South, notwithstanding an 11^th place finish, out of 15, in the Cheshire League. However the club have adapted well, sitting second with 12 wins from 16 and a goal difference of +36.

The away side in its present form was established in 1969 following a meeting in The Railway pub and was initially known as Railway Rangers; there have been football teams in the town of Ellesmere since the early 1900s.

Railway Rangers played in the Oswestry & District League but, after moving headquarters to the Market Hotel, changed name to Ellesmere Rangers FC in 1974. In the first season under their new name promotion to the Shrewsbury & West Shropshire League was achieved.

Rangers moved up to the Shropshire County League in the 1980s and, through winning the league in the 2003/04 season, earnt promotion to Division Two of the West Midlands (Regional) League. Promotions in consecutive seasons saw the club into the Premier Division and as champions in 2009/10 they secured promotion to the Midland Alliance.

Three years later Ellesmere were relegated back to the West Midlands where they remained until being transferred laterally to the North West Counties League Division One South at the end of last season – a move that Rangers have struggled to cope with, currently propping up the table with 6 points from 18 games.

Their club nickname is ‘The Meresiders’ referring to The Mere in the centre of Ellesmere (part of Shropshire’s ‘Lake District’), and the club badge depicts a swan to represent an affinity with the large number of these birds and the waterfowl that inhabit the local waterways.

And so on a grey, dreary Saturday afternoon it's an earlier start for the 2pm kick off. Over Altrincham Bridge (built 1765, widened 1850, widened 1907, rebuilt 1935) and a bridge still supporting an advertising hoarding for Kevin Junior 'Proffesional Barber' - yes indeed !!

Then past The Old Market Tavern, where rumours of its closure last night prompted a very necessary visit. In the event the pub's keys were handed over today, it will trade through Christmas but make way for housing - possibly for the homeless according to the rumour mill.

Then the haunted Orange Tree Inn next door and down to the M56 where I come off at Lymm Truck Stop. A brief foray up the M6 and a becalmed Thelwall and off at Woolston, still missing its Tree of Lost Soles. Registration plates this week are BU11YGN (Bullygun Bull Terriers), BL11NDS (Interior Curtain Centre) and OOO 321.......

Beyond Paddington House Hotel and then a right at the late and much unlamented Chevy's, going beyond Kwality Printer and The Button Boutique before parking up. A swift walk down Elaine Street brings me to Gorsey Lane and the attractions of Evolution of Man Barbers and ABC Guitars.

Rylands Recreation Club is on the right with the football club reached first. Beyond is the clubhouse, outside the ground, with a rather magnificent pavilion. There are several other grass and artificial pitches for football, cricket and rugby - the club is also home to Rylands Sharks RLFC.

£4 at the gate and inside the pitch resembles a mud bath; the walkway and surrounding rough ground faring not much better !! On the left are The Snack Shack and the Ian Finchett Pavillion (sic) - the latter actually housing the changing rooms. The top end is now fenced off, behind it waste land then the Liverpool to Manchester railway line. Only East Midlands Trains today because of yet another Northern Fail strike.

To my right is the small all seater covered Ron Stretford Stand with terraced housing in the background. The near end is open with car parking and an apartment block backing up to it. On both sides there are three bases installed, ready to accommodate the floodlights that will be erected eventually. Hence the 2pm start and the reason for Rylands being thrown out of the FA Vase, definitely their lowlight of the season......

As the rain begins to spit, Rylands are in all blue, Ellesmere in all yellow. The Meresiders can only name three substitutes, and the home team four, the latter because of a late injury. Matters are presided over by a very young referee and two elderly linesmen.

We also learn that the 76 year old groundhopper on the back row of the stand is notching up his 456th ground and is hoping for a 9-0 home win - his highest score so far an 8-1. I dare not mention the Barnton 11 Whitchurch Alport 1 match I attended three years ago....

It takes only six minutes for Rylands to move into the lead. Jay White easily outmuscles his defender and scuffs home past Rangers' keeper, Richard Cowderoy. White is sponsored by Knox Funeral Directors - presumably because he's good in the box ??!!

However it is another half an hour before Ellesmere concede again. Liam Moran wastes two good chances, dallying and then shooting straight at Cowderoy, and Tom Freeman plants a free header at a corner over the bar. Cowderoy makes a superb tip over from a Warren Gerrard strike, before Stu Wellstead gets in on the left and his gorgeous cross is headed home by White. The roles are reversed six minutes later; White's cross volleyed into the roof of the net by Wellstead for the goal of the half.

Bang on half time the Meresiders receive another blow as their captain, Seth Ellis, is shown a straight red card, twice, for a dangerous challenge (serious fowl play anyone ??!!) Confusion reigns and it all gets a bit ugly for a short while, so the referee whistles to bring the first half to a close.

Playing against ten men and three goals to the good, Rylands take a while to get going in the second period. We are just short of the hour when Freeman's lovely cross is headed in at the far post by White for his hat trick. Wellstead then contrives to balloon over a sitter from six yards but atones shortly after, laying the ball off for Ste Boardman to sidefoot into the corner for 5-0.

With nine minutes left sub Brad Williams gets wrong side of his man and is wrestled to the ground. Penalty kick and Rangers' defender James Furman lucky to escape with a yellow card. Cowderoy saves Boardman's spot kick, but Moran retrieves the rebound and squares for Williams to tap in, as the Ellesmere side stand and watch.

Just time for Fraser Ablett, son of Liverpool FC's Gary, to have a fizzing shot crash down from the underside of the crossbar before the game's final goal. Williams' floated free kick is glanced in by Boardman in injury time for a final score of 7-0, with the Meresiders failing to register a shot in the entire match.

A slightly disappointed groundhopper too, but the rest of the crowd of 76 went home happy as Rylands stay second, two points behind Abbey Hulton with three games in hand. Ellesmere remain rock bottom and appear doomed.

Wythy Go To Town - Another Fowl Performance From The Meresiders

And so to Ericstan Park (more of which anon !!) in Baguley and another meeting of two sides new to the North West Counties Division One South – Wythenshawe Town and Ellesmere Rangers.

The home team was founded in 1946 as the North Withington Amateur Football Club and was the idea of some young men who attended St Crispin’s Church on Hart Road in Fallowfield – the first committee meeting was held in the lounge of a house in Garswood Road.

The club played at Hough End Field, Princess Road in Withington and initially joined the South Manchester & Wythenshawe League. Twelve years later in 1958 they were subsequently transferred to the Lancashire & Cheshire Amateur League, working their way up the divisions before winning the First Division in 5 consecutive seasons. Then in 1972 the team applied for and were accepted into the Manchester League.

In June 1974 the club’s headquarters were moved from the Princess Hotel in Withington to the newly acquired ground at Timpson Road, Baguley where 3 prefabricated houses were purchased and turned into a clubhouse and changing facilities. It was decided to name the ground in honour of the then Chairman, Stan Hahn, and Club Secretary, Eric Renard (one of the original club founders), and thus Ericstan Park was born.

Additionally the club commissioned a new badge incorporating a cockerel and a fox – the cockerel relating to Stan Hahn (the German word for cockerel is Hähnchen) and the fox to Eric Renard (the French word for fox is Renard). Not long after, in the early 1980s, the decision was taken to change the club’s name to Wythenshawe Town to reflect their new home.

In 2014 Town moved to the Cheshire League Division Two and during that season won all 39 matches across 4 competitions, earning national headlines as true ‘Invincibles’. The winning streak continued the following season, ending at 49, but promotion as champions took Town to the Premier Division.

After two seasons the club ‘secured promotion’ in the summer to the North West Counties League Division One South, despite only finishing 7^th out of 15. This campaign has been a mixed one, the highlight being an 11-3 victory at Eccleshall and the lowlight, literally, being expelled from the FA Vase for failing to meet floodlight criteria…..

The away side in its present form was established in 1969 following a meeting in The Railway pub and was initially known as Railway Rangers; there have been football teams in the town of Ellesmere since the early 1900s.

Railway Rangers played in the Oswestry & District League but, after moving headquarters to the Market Hotel, changed name to Ellesmere Rangers FC in 1974. In the first season under their new name promotion to the Shrewsbury & West Shropshire League was achieved.

Rangers moved up to the Shropshire County League in the 1980s and, through winning the league in the 2003/04 season, earnt promotion to Division Two of the West Midlands (Regional) League. Promotions in consecutive seasons saw the club into the Premier Division and as champions in 2009/10 they secured promotion to the Midland Alliance.

Three years later Ellesmere were relegated back to the West Midlands where they remained until being transferred laterally to the North West Counties League Division One South at the end of last season – a move that Rangers have struggled to cope with, currently propping up the table with 3 points from 12 games.

Their club nickname is ‘The Meresiders’ referring to The Mere in the centre of Ellesmere (part of Shropshire’s ‘Lake District’), and the club badge depicts a swan to represent an affinity with the large number of these birds and the waterfowl that inhabit the local waterways.

And so as Storm Callum blasts its way through a wild afternoon it's the shortest trip of the season - all 2.3 miles of it to Timpson Road. Past Turkish Grill, formerly owned by a convicted drug smuggler, now on the run, to an eclectic parade of shops featuring, amongst others, Dog Beauty, Marvel Guitars and Cheshire Clocks - quite the bizarre bazaar !!

Then into Timperley Village, left at the Frank Sidebottom statue, beyond Pinwheel Haberdashery and to Brooklands roundabout, which is where this week's car registration plate comes into view. This time it's SO0 6LAD, maybe an omen but definitely more money than sense again......

Ericstan Park is a short way down the road on the right next to Tesco's Baguley superstore, with access via the car park or the cul de sac of Timpson Road round the corner after the new Lidl superstore. The impressive wrought iron gates are wide open and a fiver in leads to the car park where the Ellesmere Rangers minibus is parked up.

Straight in front of me is the well appointed clubhouse and dressing rooms, behind which runs a freight railway line (just the two diesels this afternoon). Across the way is the Billy Moore (Mini) Stand with 32 seats spread across 2 rows which afford some cover from the blustery conditions, and behind is a thick hedge and ex council housing stock.

This side is fenced off half way down next to the dugouts as is the top end which supports trees, undergrowth and a tall fence screening the A560 we arrived on - just one ball today is hit that inaccurately to land on the busy road. So just a 2.5 sided ground this week !

The near side has a similar mini stand, but this time with only 31 seats, as one has gone astray.... Then a single row of blue seats takes us to half way leading to a walkway down to the corner flag. Tree lined again with the Tesco filling station directly adjacent.

And I mustn't forget the floodlights - 6 newly installed floodlights erected on 1 October in readiness for the following night's match with Barnton. A match that was postponed - due to ' floodlight problems' ....

The match kicks off in very blowy conditions, the sun making a brief appearance and thankfully the heavy rain holding off. Wythenshawe are in all blue, Ellesmere in change all yellow with contrasting dugouts - Town's hugely overcrowded, Rangers sparse, naming only 3 substitutes including their manager, Kevin Sandwith. The game is overseen by a very young, very tubby linesman (boy?), a very young, very attractive lineswoman (girl?) and a bald referee, old enough to be the grandfather of both.

The Meresiders elect to play with the wind at their backs and force some early pressure but particularly wayward shooting means they fail to take advantage. Indeed Joseph Imlach's cross cum shot cleared almost on the line is their only notable effort of the half.

Wythenshawe start to fashion opportunities with Liam Crellin-Myers shooting straight at Rangers' stopper Jack Matthews on 11 minutes. A minute later Brad Byrne is clipped from behind in the box, and Grant Spencer slots home the penalty.

The rest of the first period is all about spurned chances for Town. Ben Steer hits the inside of the post from a half cleared corner, and Crellin-Myers and Ste Yarwood are denied by excellent Matthews saves. Byrne also misses, unbelievably, from four yards.

The police are called during the interval, not to investigate whether it's a crime that Wythy are only 1-0 up at the break, but to view some lazy, selfish Chelsea Tractor parking that is blocking emergency vehicle access. Strange this as the club car park is not full and there are plenty of spaces further down the street.....

With the wind to their advantage Wythenshawe open the second half, well, like a whirlwind. Crellin-Myers flicks in Spencer's cross on 50 minutes, Yarwood taps in a rebound three minutes later and within 60 seconds Byrne scores excellently at the near post - 3 goals in 4 minutes !!

Crellin-Myers is thwarted by the save of the match from Matthews just before the hour. Then a flurry of substitutions and Town get sloppy. Rangers come more into the game, and Conor Hughes and Aaron Davies have long range efforts just past the upright - the small group of away fans continually encouraging their players even though the game is lost.

Finally with five minutes to go Steer breaks Wythy's torpor by, err, steering home in the six yard box for 5-0. The Meresiders respond, trickery on the wing from Gerardo Fernandez providing a consolation for Anwar Olugbon. Olugbon then hits the bar and Jake Aldred in the home goal is almost embarrassed by a shot that goes through his legs, only to retrieve it on the goal line, but it remains 5-1 to Wythenshawe at the death.

(Images courtesy of Dylan Photography)

BU in Business - Rangers' Side Merely Fowl

And so to Shropshire’s ‘Lake District’ and the historic market town of Ellesmere, nestling in the North West corner of the county. Today’s action is an FA Vase First Qualifying Round tie between Ellesmere Rangers and Birstall United.

The home club in its present form was established in 1969 following a meeting in The Railway pub and was initially known as Railway Rangers; there have been football teams in the town since the early 1900s.

Railway Rangers played in the Oswestry & District League but, after moving headquarters to the Market Hotel, changed name to Ellesmere Rangers FC in 1974. In the first season under their new name promotion to the Shrewsbury & West Shropshire League was achieved.

Rangers moved up to the Shropshire County League in the 1980s and, through winning the league in the 2003/04 season, earnt promotion to Division Two of the West Midlands (Regional) League. Promotions in consecutive seasons saw the club into the Premier Division and as champions in 2009/10 they secured promotion to the Midland Alliance.

Three years later Ellesmere were relegated back to the West Midlands where they remained until being transferred laterally to the North West Counties League Division One South at the end of last season.

Their club nickname is ‘The Meresiders’ referring to The Mere in the centre of Ellesmere, and the club badge depicts a swan to represent an affinity with the large number of these birds and the waterfowl that inhabit the local waterways.

Birstall United FC was established in 1961, playing Sunday League football in the Leicester & District League. After winning three championships Birstall switched to Saturday football and Division Five of the Leicester Mutual League.

BU rose quickly to the top tier and following a third Division One title in 1975/76 took their place in the Leicestershire Senior League Division Two. United won the title in their first season and stayed in Division One, latterly the Premier Division, for 39 years before being crowned champions in 2016.

This saw the club promoted to the East Midlands Counties League where they resided for two campaigns, with BU transferred to Division One of the United Counties League in the close season.

So on a glorious September Saturday afternoon it's past Totty Towers, a hand written sign pointing to Katy and George's Wedding in Bowdon and down to the M56. The motorway is clogged with caravans and police cars dealing with a smash on the opposite side, the car pointing in the wrong direction.

Wind turbines and Stanlow oil refinery softly belching out fumes, then the M53 and into Wales, and an old red London bus displaying 138 Streatham. This week's weird car registration plate, spotted on a Range Rover, is SO05 AGE......

Then Cinders Fancy Chicks and The Cross Foxes, both in Erbistock, and another hand written sign '25th Party' in Knolton. Back into England and Shropshire at The Trotting Mare before I reach Ellesmere and a detour to see The Mere on a perfect day for boating.

Through the pretty market town and Beech Grove is on the road out to Oswestry; fortunately there are two signs directing me to Ellesmere Rangers FC, but I still miss it on the first drive through. That's because the ground is smack bang in the middle of a housing estate via a ginnel barely wide enough for a car, and far too narrow for the Birstall team coach which is parked on a side street.

A fiver in, straight to a smart clubhouse, deck chairs outside for drinkers to lap up the sun. Three sides of the ground are surrounded by hedges and housing, the other playing fields and then farmland.
The near side supports a 93 seat covered stand, a real sun trap today. The rest of the stadium has a single railing and walkway around the pitch. There are several shipping containers dotted around the periphery of the pitch, a roller and, in the corner, two abandoned dugouts....

The Meresiders are in sky blue shirts and navy shorts and socks, BU in red with white flashing and grey trim. The first half is scrappy and littered with free kicks and lost balls, and ends up being the tale of two volleys. Rangers' Anwar Olugbon sends in a great cross and the cushioned volley that meets it skims the bar. Shortly after a headed clearance at the other end leads to BU's James Pearce volleying the falling ball into the bottom left corner to give United the lead on the half hour.

The second half can only be an improvement and so it proves. Birstall sub Josh Clarke drifts in from the right touch line, beats four men and shoots with his left foot low past the keeper for BU to double their lead on 50 minutes.

Eight minutes later Ethan Bibby launches one from 25 yards and it sails into the top corner for a wonder goal, and the tie is over. Ellesmere are wretched, epitomized by Olugbon's shot from the corner of the six yard box that is so wildly shanked it runs out of play closer to the half way line than the goal !! His team mate Patrick Udoh loses the plot and threatens to start shooting the opposition, and not in a footballing sense.....

Ryan Rowley wraps things up with six minutes to go from a fabulous team move, latching onto a series of one twos and steering the ball home. The underemployed BU stopper, Brad Jones, finally makes a save in injury time clawing away an Olugbon shot, after dropping the ball at a corner.

4-0 at the finish to Birstall, and much joy amongst the travelling support in a crowd of 63 - that four hour round trip was worth it !!